My boar does this freaky thing with his eyes when he sleeps

[Patmai]

Hello, forum members and vets! It would mean the world to me if you could help me out with a few issues bothering me about my little darling.

1. He does this freaky eye thing when he sleeps

For quite some time when he sleeps... I'm unsure how to describe it, but it looks like he's extremely looking down? Like the kind of shocked look you give when you nearly step on dog poopoo before you leave your house.

This is him sleeping. At one point I caught him tearing up quite a lot while sleeping and doing that eye thing.

His eyes went back to normal when he woke up from me gently stroking his head.

I'm not sure what him "crying" or "tearing up" means, and it's difficult to find references online because "crying" in some pages mean them yelling or something, and "tearing up" always gets me in a page of someone asking if them eating paper is okay. XD

So I'm wondering if it's anything serious or if it's just a sleeping habit? Does anyone else get this with their cavy? And if it is anything serious, as much as possible, I'd like to be able to treat him myself because the vets in my area know nothing about GPs and they charge me a whole month's food allowance.

2. How do I really know if a GP is "bloated"?

Like I said in my past question, it's difficult to find good online references. And I don't have a proper picture to show what he looks like at the moment... So, I'll just describe him here.

So, my boar doesn't have fat cheeks -- which bothers me because he's got a huge body. He seems healthy, and he does eat different kinds of fruits and veggies and he has his daily intake of hay and pellets. Which is why I'm verily bothered why he doesn't have fat cheeks.

Actually, I just remembered I uploaded a video of both of them on YT. Link is here:

He licks me often, is that normal? I mean, does that have to do anything with him having thin cheeks?

3. If he sort of "pushes" me away or kinda squirms whenever I touch him -- does that mean he's distressed by something? Could it mean mites or lices?

He seems to very much dislike being touched these days, like when I pick him up and pet him, every time I would start to stroke him, he sort of flinches...

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Thank you so much for reading my post, however long and possibly annoying it could be. I hope I could get some helpful feedback soon! <:'( Thanks in advance!

[pinky]

They're prey animals and are on alert when they sleep. Some of mine do the same thing. Sometimes their eyes look like that but they're in a pretty deep sleep. It's nothing to worry about. Hamsters have fat cheeks, not guinea pigs. They lick to taste the salt on your skin. When they seem irritated about being touched, it might be an indication of mites. I'd just treat him for them.

[bpatters]

The eye-thing when sleeping is normal.

Guinea pigs are not like hamsters -- they don't store food in their cheeks. Your pig looks perfectly normal.

[BunanaBuns]

They're so cute!! They look perfectly happy and healthy too. When a pig has bloat they'll lay there puffed up and not want to eat anything. It's normal for their bellies to be a bit round.

The eye thing is perfectly normal too. I think pigs sometimes don't want to be touched and just get goofy about it. I wouldn't worry about mites unless there is a bunch of scratching and/or bald spots.

The only thing I'd ask is if they're getting Timothy hay at all times. I wasn't sure if that was timothy or not.

[MrWhistles]

They're so adorable.
Everything you asked about is normal. The tearing thing, I think is their eyes just being kept moist and some of it is leaking out. Your own eyes do the samething when you sleep.

I love their ears. They're so huge and they make me wanna play with their ears. xD

[Patmai]

They're prey animals and are on alert when they sleep. Some of mine do the same thing. Sometimes their eyes look like that but they're in a pretty deep sleep. It's nothing to worry about. Hamsters have fat cheeks, not guinea pigs. They lick to taste the salt on your skin. When they seem irritated about being touched, it might be an indication of mites. I'd just treat him for them.

Phew! Thanks for your quick answer! It's reassuring nothing's wrong with them. xD

The eye-thing when sleeping is normal.

Guinea pigs are not like hamsters -- they don't store food in their cheeks. Your pig looks perfectly normal.

Thank you. 8D Glad they're well. :D

They're so cute!! They look perfectly happy and healthy too. When a pig has bloat they'll lay there puffed up and not want to eat anything. It's normal for their bellies to be a bit round.

The eye thing is perfectly normal too. I think pigs sometimes don't want to be touched and just get goofy about it. I wouldn't worry about mites unless there is a bunch of scratching and/or bald spots.

The only thing I'd ask is if they're getting Timothy hay at all times. I wasn't sure if that was timothy or not.

They are!! <3 Thank you! <:'3 They are the tubby little devils. x3
Well, I live in the city, so I buy the timothy hay in packages? Kinda like the ones you see online, but yeah...

They're so adorable.
Everything you asked about is normal. The tearing thing, I think is their eyes just being kept moist and some of it is leaking out. Your own eyes do the samething when you sleep.

I love their ears. They're so huge and they make me wanna play with their ears. xD

Thank you! I thought it would've been an indicator that his eyes were bulging or something. :| Scared me every time I thought of it.. But YAY for healthy piggies! <3

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Thank you all for your answers <:'3

[ecogirl01]

Thanks Patmai for posting these questions. Being a newbie myself, I've noticed the eye thing too and wondered about it. glad to know it is okay. Cute piggies!!